pesto

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• Special equipment needed: A food processor (Check Amazon.com's sales on Cuisinart food processors)

another recipe   METHOD

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.Ingredients

Pine Kernels. I bought the ones pictured here from an organic shop. I'm dubious as to whether or not they're much better than ordinary pine kernels, but they certainly seemed to cost a lot more! However, hopefully organic foods have a lower environmental impact, so I don't feel so bad about the extra expense. Although I'll probably be beaten to death by an angry mob of Italians for saying it, as far as I'm concerned pine kernels are pine kernels. I don't personally believe the quality of pine kernels will have much of an impact on your pesto.

Parmesan. Well sort of. So called "real" Parmesan is always made with animal rennet so I never buy it. I gather it's a bit like the Champagne issue; any Parmesan not made in the correct region to the correct method can't be called Parmesan. For a while now I've been buying this alternative made by Twineham Grange Farms. It used to be called Vegetarian Parmesan, then for a while Vegetarian Parmesan style cheese. Apparently neither were acceptable so they had to settle for the rather unevocative "Italian Style Premium Cheese". I feel no shame in this blatant product endorsement, I love the stuff, it is an award winning cheese, and it is totally vegetarian. Often pesto will also contain Grand Padano. I've yet to find a vegetarian version of this, so I just leave it out.

Fresh basil. I absolutely adore basil, the taste of it, the smell of it, even running my fingers through the plant itself. It is marvellous stuff. I've found it's much better to buy these growing pots rather than cut leaves - it lasts longer, it's better value for money, makes a nice addition to the window sill in your kitchen, and I think it tastes better too.

Rocket. Not exactly a standard pesto ingredient, so you can leave this out altogether and just use a lot more basil instead. To be honest, I used rocket this time because I didn't have enough basil! However, I think it makes a great addition, an extra little kick, and seems to blend wonderfully with the flavour of the basil.

Olive Oil. To my mind no Italian food is complete without olive oil. The one pictured here isn't a particularly wonderful brand or anything, it's just what I happened to be able to get hold of from my local supermarket.


Method

There's nothing really to it, all you really need is a food mixer. I use a little handheld one. The quantities are really up to you. I never really measure stuff myself. Roughly speaking, I guess I use something like 1 part pine kernels to 2 parts cheese to 4+ parts basil and rocket. Then just lots of olive oil! You can always add more of one ingredient if it doesn't look quite right after the first blend. Be careful here, I managed to break one of the attachments on my little food processor (I think it was already cracked from previous abuse). It's probably a good idea to feed a bit in at a time, and start with the harder things (pine kernels, then cheese) and move onto the softer things. It seemed to stress the mixer less if there was a reasonable amount of liquid in there too.

Here's the finished product! It's really difficult to describe how to know when it's just right. I just have an idea in my head of how I like pesto to be. I imagine everyone has slightly different tastes. I like it to be fairly liquid, still a tiny bit chunky, and really fresh tasting. As I said before, if it doesn't taste quite right on the first go, add more of whatever you feel it's lacking and give it another blitz. If it's too dry, add more olive oil. If it's the wrong colour (not green enough), or too hard, you probably need to add more basil. If upon tasting it you are strongly tempted to sod the pasta and just eat the lot straight out of the blender, you've probably got it spot on.


Serving

I think this kind of pesto goes brilliantly with just some straightforward fresh pasta, no need for anything particularly fancy. On this particular occasion, I've served it with some (shop bought) garlic and herb ravioli. This pasta has quite a subtle flavour, so you can really appreciate the pesto. Better still, use some home made pasta. Alongside this, partly just to add a little colour, I've thrown together a simple tomato and rocket salad, and covered the whole lot in shavings of Vegetarian Parmesan (hell I'm going to call it Parmesan regardless), a good drizzling of olive oil, and some freshly ground black pepper. I'm a huge fan of big white plates, especially for this sort of meal.

Here's a closeup. Looking at this makes me want to eat it all over again. Although I say so myself, this really was delicious! Take a look at the full size picture yourself, and try to tell me you don't feel hungry. There's something wonderful about the colour of really fresh pesto - it has a a sort of liveliness to it that the stuff that comes in a jar can't reall

Lampascion

In the market in Syracuse we came across a traditional food that is common in Puglia, though less so here in Sicily – 

lampascioni.  Similar in appearance to little onions, lampascioni are actually the bulb of a tassel hyacinth, the muscari comosum.  These are a common wildflower especially in southern Italy, though few people realize that you can eat the bulb.  Lampascioni are a classic example of Italian peasant cuisine, using free ingredients combined with a fair amount of labor and know-how to  turn an odd edible food into a delectable dish.  Or so we hoped.

Emanuele remembers lampascioni from his childhood in Puglia, though he remembers little of how his Pugliese mother prepared them, other than “cutting a cross in the bottom.”  I remember eatinglampascioni that had been preserved in vinegar and oil as an antipasto in Puglia, but neither of us had ever cooked them.Though it felt like we were cheating to buy the lampascionirather than dig them up, we decided it was worth it to try them out (and since this wild hyacinth is already blooming in our fields, we have the excuse that it is too late to dig them up anyway.) 

Emanuele began to clean them and was soon grossed out by the clear sticky liquid that came oozing out of each lampascione.  Sound unappetizing? It gets worse. 

We decided the sticky substance must have a scientific name, and settled on “goo”. Peeling thelampascioni with this goo oozing out makes everything stick to your hands – dirt, peel, roots, and, soon, fingers against fingers.  This is what I imagine it’s like working in a glue factory, only dirtier.  “Che schifo”- how revolting, said Emanuele in disgust as he got fed up trying to clean them, and decided to toss the rest of the lampascioni into the garbage -  I rescued the bulbs and planted them in a corner of the garden. If all else fails, we should have some pretty tassel hyacinths next spring.

Emanuele decided to boil the cleaned bulbs for a short while, after which he put them – still oozing goo – into a bowl and stared at them, trying to will the goo to go away.  This proved ineffective. 

Since Emanuele’s older sisters had spent much of their childhood in Puglia and learned to cook from their pugliese mother, I decided it was time for a lampascioniconference call.  After much discussion, in which both sisters corroborated the story of the cross cut, I decided to follow this procedure:

1. The lampascioni had already been cleaned and parboiled for 15 minute. Cut a cross in the root base of each bulb – work quickly as lots more goo will start seeping out of the cross cut. 

2. Put the lampascioni in a large bowl of water.  Change the water 3 times a day for 2 days. The water had a slimy texture (that goo again), so I rinsed the lampascioni in a colander each time I changed the water. 

3. In a stainless steel pot, make a mixture of ½ vinegar and ½ water that will amply cover the lampscioni bulbs.  (I  used my very strong homemade red wine vinegar, so used less vinegar.  Red wine vinegar will lend a  pinkish color to the lampascioni.) Bring to a boil with the lampascioni and let simmer 20 minutes, skimming off any foam.

4. Drain the lampascioni in a colander and rinse well in running water. Make another batch of water/vinegar (or just plain water if you like them less vinegary- this is what I did.)

5. Simmer the lampascioni for another 20-30 minutes until they are tender when pierced with a fork, but still hold their shape. They are resilient little buggers, so it’s hard to overcook them. This is also a dish which is impossible to make if there is water shortage.

6. Drain the cooked lampascioni and rinse well. Pat dry of excess water.  There should now be no more goo seeping out of the lampascioni-hurray!

7. Put the goo-free lampascioni in a serving bowl. Like most edible things, they will immediately be improved by a good dousing of extra virgin olive oil.  Add salt.  Timidly taste. If they need more vinegar, add a teaspoon or two. The bulbs themselves will have a mildly bitter taste which is pleasantly countered by the vinegar and oil. If they are very bitter, you did not do a good job of getting rid of that bitter goo, and should reconsider using lampascioni in their blooming stage as decorative flowers only.

I brought my bowl of lampascioni to a family lunch in Sicily, where Emanuele’s sister Elisa was the guinea pig.  I was thrilled that she proclaimed the lampascioni to be“buonissimi! ” After eating several, she then said she would add a bit more vinegar.

So, all in all the gooey lampascioni mess was a success!  “Si”, Emanuele agreed, who reluctantly ate one, then looked relieved that they tasted okay and ate a few more-”sono buoni”.  But next time, he swore, you can find someone else to clean them.

rustici

 500 gr pasta sfoglia
- 125 gr mozzarella tritata
- 150 gr salsa di pomodoro a pezzi
- besciamella (40 gr farina - 30 gr burro - 250 ml latte)
- 1 uovo
- olio, sale, pepe, noce moscata


procedimento:

1. Preparare una besciamella densa aggiustando di sale, pepe e noce moscata.

2. Aggiungere alla besciamella ancora sul fuoco la mozzarella tritata, mescolare finchè quest'ultima non si sia sciolta per bene. Lasciare intiepidire.

3. Condire il pomodoro con un goccio d'olio e un po' di sale.

4. Stendere la pasta sfoglia (3-4 mm di spessore) e ritagliare sei cerchi di circa 10cm Ø e sei cerchi di circa 12cm Ø.

5. Disporre sui cerchi più piccoli una cucchiaiata abbondante di besciamella e un cucchiaio scarso di salsa.

6. Ricoprire i dischetti conditi con i cerchi più grandi, sigillando bene i bordi.

7. Disporre i rustici su una teglia con carta forno e spennellare con l'uovo sbattuto.

8. Cuocere a forno preriscaldato a 250° per 10 minuti circa.

9. Lasciar raffreddare e buon appetito

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The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong. Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during theSecond World War. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or asmachine gun platforms. With some 113,000 built in the United Kingdom and abroad, it was the most produced armoured fighting vehicle in history.

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Processor: Intel GMA dual-core B815, 1.6GHz
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Display: Widescreen 15.6" (resolution 1366 x 768)
Weight: 2.4kg
Graphics: Intel GMA graphics card (integrated)
Included software: Windows 7 Home Premium
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Processor: Intel Pentium dual core P6200 2.13GHz
RAM: 2GB
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Display: Widescreen 15.6" (resolution 1366 x 768)
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Graphics: Intel HD graphics (integrated)
Included software: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Warranty: One-year manufacturer warranty 

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• RAM: Random Access Memory, the memory programs draw from to run smoothly. The more RAM, the quicker you can expect your software to run.
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Spaghetti carbonara with courgette & fresh basil

Serves:

 2

Ingredients

150g  Spaghetti
Knob of butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 large courgette, coarsely grated
1x ½ x 25g pack fresh basil
2 free range eggs
100g  Crème Fraîche
25g grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus extra to serve

Method

1. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling water according to pack instructions.

2. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a frying pan and cook the garlic, shallot and courgette for 6–8 minutes until softened and slightly golden. Set aside a few small basil leaves and shred the remainder. Stir the shredded basil into the courgette mixture and cook for a few seconds.

3. Beat together the eggs, crème fraîche, Parmigiano Reggiano and some coarse black pepper.

4. Drain the pasta and return to the pan (off the heat). Add the courgette and eggs mixtures to the pan and toss well together until the heat of the pasta has thickened the sauce. Divide between two bowls, scatter with the basil leaves and a little more Parmigiano Reggiano to serve.

Drink recommendation

This intriguing blend of three traditional Campania grapes is delicious with this dish: Triade Fiano /Falanghina / Greco 2010 Campania, Italy.

moss

Courgette, lemon and chilli tagliatelle

• Vegetarian

Preparation time:

5 minutes

Cooking time:

10 minutes

Total time:

15 minutes 

Serves:

 2

Ingredients

• 175g essential Waitrose Tagliatelle
• 2 tbsp Waitrose Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 medium courgettes, halved lengthways and sliced thinly
• 1–2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp Bart Crushed Chillies
• Grated zest of ½ lemon

Method

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add the tagliatelle and cook for 10 minutes until just tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the courgettes in a single layer. Cook on a medium to high heat for 5 minutes until golden, turning to cook both sides. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a further minute. Season the courgettes and stir in the grated lemon zest.
3. Drain the pasta and toss with the courgettes and any oil from the pan. Check seasoning and serve with grated strong vegetarian Cheddar or Parmigiano Reggiano if desired.

Cook's tips

Add cubetti di pancetta to the courgette for a
non-vegetarian alternative.

william watkins usa

Jan Sluijters (1881-1957)

born Hertogenbosch, 17 Dec 1881; d Amsterdam, 8 May 1957). Dutch painter and draughtsman. His first artistic training was in ’s Hertogenbosch (1893–4), where his father Gijsbertus Antonius Sluijters (1847–1927) was a wood-engraver. In 1894 his family moved to Amsterdam, the city where Jan Sluijters was to spend the rest of his life. After taking his art teacher’s certificate (1900) he went to the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten. In 1904 he won the Prix de Rome. Visiting Paris in 1906, however, he became fascinated by modern art. Sluijters’s confrontation with the work of Neo-Impressionists, Fauvists and such painters as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Kees van Dongen resulted in sensational and dynamically modern work and made him a pioneer of modernism in the Netherlands. He assimilated the French influences into a divisionist style, characterized by an expressive use of bright dots, lines and blocks of colour corresponding to the artist’s personal view of the motif. The application of this technique, particularly in landscape paintings such as October Sun, Laren (1910; Haarlem, Frans Halsmus.), shows how strongly he admired the later work of Vincent van Gogh. It was this form of divisionism, of which the chief representatives were Sluijters, Piet Mondrian and Leo Gestel, that brought about the breakthrough for Amsterdam’s avant-garde painters in 1909 and that paved the way generally for the development of modern art in the Netherlands. The new French colour was used in even more concentrated form in a number of figure paintings from 1911, made up of larger planes with clearly defined outlines, for example Woman Reading (Eindhoven, Van Abbemus.).